Sources: GOP leaders plan to reprimand Democrats over guns sit-in

House Republicans are preparing to reprimand Democratic lawmakers for their controversial “sit-in” protest over gun control, sources told POLITICO.

The exact language is still in flux, and multiple sources said discussions are ongoing. But Speaker Paul Ryan’s office and other leadership staff have been researching ways they can punish Democrats for their controversial occupation of the House floor to protest the chamber's lack of response to the Orlando, Florida, shooting massacre.

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GOP lawmakers are expected to discuss the matter next week upon returning from their summer recess. While no votes have been scheduled, some members have been given notice that the response could come to the floor in September.

One option that’s been floated is a resolution broadly stating a sentiment that such tactics shouldn’t be allowed and will be sanctioned somehow going forward. Others are hoping Republicans will publicly rebuke certain Democrats they say “intimidated” nonpartisan House staff members during the late-June incident.

The latter response was used to admonish Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) after he yelled, “You lie!” at President Barack Obama during a 2009 joint session of Congress. But this situation involves multiple lawmakers, so the same tack may not work.

One Republican source familiar with the ongoing discussions said Republicans' intent is to maintain decorum in the future and “protect the permanent employees of the House, who the Democrats treated with contempt.” GOP leaders want to make clear that such actions are “not acceptable” and won't be tolerated.

House Republicans were furious when Democrats took over the House floor, a breach of decorum that shut down the chamber for 25 hours after Ryan refused to allow a vote on a gun-control bill. GOP lawmakers seethed in conference meetings following the incident — which garnered loads of favorable press for the Democrats — and demanded that Ryan act to rebuke them.

The Democratic organizers of the sit-in said the nation's gun crisis warranted such a response. Their protest came on the heels of the shooting at a gay nightclub, in which a gunman killed 49 people.

Republicans say the Democrats’ actions endangered the institution by undermining rules that have governed the chamber for 250 years. Even senior Democrats privately expressed concern about potential long-term fallout, particularly if they're eventually in the majority and Republicans resort to the same kind of tactics.

Republicans have also taken issue with how a few Democrats in particular acted during the protest. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters in July that nonpartisan House staff complained to him that Democrats were bullying floor employees, even knocking something out of one staffer’s hand when the person was trying to restore order.

McCarthy said his staff was investigating the matter, had talked to multiple witnesses and was seeking video footage to verify the account. POLITICO has not independently verified his assertion.